1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera, an image correcting apparatus, an image correcting system, an image correcting method and a computer program product providing the image correcting method, each of which has the function of correcting an image obtained by photo-taking.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, there has been known a new photographic system, in which a photographic film is provided with a magnetic recording part, a camera is arranged to record photo-taking data or the like at the magnetic recording part during photo-taking, and the photo-taking data is read out and used later in processing the film for developing or printing.
Further, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 7-281285, etc., there has been proposed a camera which is adapted for photo-taking with a film of the above-stated kind and further includes an image sensor and a monitor so as to display and record electronic images obtained through photoelectric conversion by the image sensor. The arrangement of the camera disclosed will be hereinafter called the prior art.
According to the prior art, some correction information is added to images on an exposed film and correction is made on the images as necessary according to the correction information on the side of a printer.
Further, according to the prior art, an electronic image picked up by the image sensor at about the same time as an exposure action on the film is stored in a memory, and the electronic image stored is used in correcting the image on the side of the printer. Thus, the prior art permits correction of a red-eye phenomenon, a whole color tone or trimming and also a continuous montaging process on a plurality of images.
However, correction of finished photographs is desired, in many cases, with respect to the timing of photo-taking, for example, in such cases where a person posing for a portrait happened to close the eyes, happened to make undesirable facial expression or happened to take the undesirable pose, or where some unwanted things suddenly come to move across in front of people lined up for commemorative photographing or the like with a self-timer function used for photo-taking.
Correction of such an image on the side of the printer requires some special art for creating another image of the person or creating a background after removal of an obstacle. Such a correction process, however, cannot be adequately carried out in a short period of time.
It is one aspect of the invention to provide a camera, an image correcting apparatus, an image correcting system, an image correcting method and a computer program product providing the image correcting method, each of which is arranged to record an object image as a photo-taking image and to record, as a correction image to be used for correcting the photo-taking image, an object image obtained at a point of time different from a point of time at which the photo-taking image is obtained, so that the photo-taking image can be appropriately corrected with the correction image.
The above and other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.